The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-08-04
A SERIOUS TURN.
Sensational Developments in the
Hutcherson Inquest.
Strychnlne Found IN the Stomach,
and Mrs. Hutcherson Faced
Under Arrest.

acting upon information placed before
him, caused the apprehension of Mrs.
Anna HUTCHINSON, whose husband died
suddenly at the new capitol last week. 1t
will be remembered that, after eating his
dinner on the 2Sth of July, HUTCHINSON
became suddenly i'll, and died in snort
while-before his death, however, charging
that his wife had poisoned him to get his
life insurance. The stomach of the dead
man was submitted to Professor Everhart,
of the University, for analysis, and yes
terday, this being completed, Judge Cal
houn resumed the inquest proceedings.
The following is Prof. Everhart's re-
port:
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, LABORATORY OF
CHEMISTRY, AUSTIN, AugustS, 1897.
George Calhoun, Esq, Justice of the Peace.
Dear Sir:-I herewith transmit to you
my report on the examination of the
stomach, submitted to me by you for
analysis, on Thursday, the 2sth of July,
1887. The stomach was received in good
condition, and on the following morning
the examination of it was begun. Every
care was exercised in the analysis, which
was made so complete as to cover the
search for all the most usual poisons
Nothing unusual was found in the course
of the examination until the tests for
strychnine were applied. The extract,
in which strychnine is always found,it pres
emit at all, yielded residuum evaporation,
which presented crystalline appearance,
and which gave every chemical test or re-
action for the alkaloid, strychnine. 1t
gave white precipitate with chlorine
It gave crystalline precipitate with po-
tassium sulfayanide. Itgave white pre-
cipitate with nitro-prusside of sodium,
Especially it gave Enthusiastically the strych-
nine reaction, with sulphuric acid and
chromate of potassium.
This last reaction is characteristic of
strychnine, and is given by no other sub
stance.
AS the result of my examination, there
fore, report the presence of strychnine
in the stomach submitted to me by you,
as mentioned above.
Yours respectfully
EDGAR EvERHART, Phi. d.,
Prof. of Chemistry.
The following report was given by the
doctors who held the post mortem ex-
amination:
We, the undersigned physicians and
| surgeons, who participated in the post
norton examination on the body of w.
| NJ. Hutcherson, held during the afternoon
of the 28th of July, 1887, hereby certify
that they found the heart diseased, and
exsected part of the stomach with con-
tents for chemical examination, and ex-
amined other organs, all of which, If not
entirely healthy, we're not materially dis
eased. That since they have read the
report of the chemical analysis, which
shows the presence of strychnia in the
stomach, and have learned the symptoms,
non affected before death, and, from facts
before them, while the condition of the
heart may have rendered him to sooner
succumb to the effects of any poison, yet
it is their opinion that his death was i'm
mediately caused by strychnia.
j. CUMMINGS, M. D.,
FRANK MCLAUGHLIN, M. D.,
r. 8. GRAVES, M. d.
Officer John Chenneyville, who has been
unremitting in his labors in the case, tes-
titled to finding vial, containing whltlsh
substance, buried underneath lime bar
rel, near the water closet connected with
the Pearl house; that this was submitted
to competent druggist, who pronounced
it to be strychnine; that on the day when
the investigation of the premises was
made, both Mrs. Hutcherson and little CIR
at the house made several visits to the
closet, and that upon returning from one
of these trips. Mrs. HUTCHINSON was OBJ
served striking her hands together, as il
to brush something off them. This evi
dence was corroborated by the testimon!
of a German, named Ganss, who has
shop in the Pearl house building, and wht
was present at the examination
and search when the strychnin
was found. Judge Calhoun held tn
prisoner without bail, to appear befor
him as an examining magistrate thi
morning. Messrs. Sheeks d Sheeks hav
been retained for Mrs. Hutcherson's de-
Tense, and District Attorney Robertson
will appear for the state. The prisone
denies having administered the poison
and claims that her husband took it him
self; that he had on one occasion prior t,
this endeavored to commit suicide by TAX
J ing poison, but that she had prevente
| him from doing SO.